EXTREMELY RARE ANCIENT COPPER ANTENNA SWORD FROM THE HARAPPAN CULTURE *LUR129

Product Description

This EXTREMELY RARE ancient copper "Antenna Sword"from the ancient Harrapan Culture of the Ancient Near East (Indus Valley).  Acquired from a private Denver, Colorado collection dating back to the 1960's, this fortunate opportunity presents a RARE chance for an advanced collector to acquire an extremely elusive ancient sword type, for their collection.  This period in ancient history was only recently discovered in hoard burials from Northern India, where an advanced civilization flourished, with armies of chariots and armor.  This specific offering is identical to an example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Accession Number: 2001.433.53), this example being considerably nicer and larger than the museum specimen.

These swords were made of cast and hammered unalloyed copper.  The crudeness and wavy features of the metal are a result of the copper being softer than alloyed bronze, and of a much earlier and more primitive metalsmithing technique compared to the more refined work of later Bronze Age weapons and cultures.  The straight Y-shaped pommel is a unique feature of these swords and this design never migrated to the ancient Near East, making these swords an immediately identifiable artifact to this ancient culture and region.  We cannot emphasize enough, just how rare this sword is!

This is a superbly preserved example of this rare copper sword.  It is complete with an exceptional green copper patina on its surface.  There were two nicks to the middle of blade we restored but they were small and the work is undetectable.  The prominent mid-rib was to strengthen the blade, allowing it to pierce the leather and copper armor that would have been worn in this period.  A sword like this could have been employed by either a foot soldier, or a chariot warrior.  

This artifact has  been professionally cleaned and conserved in our lab, being treated with a special sealer developed and formulated by us specifically for ancient metal preservation.  The patina shows beautiful traits only found in authentic ancient weapons such as a layered mineralized patina with encrustations.  No active bronze disease.   Bronze disease can be a problem in bronze artifacts and untreated, it can literally eat away an artifact over a matter of years and destroy the piece. 

WARNING:  There is an increasing number of fake "ancient" bronze weapons on the market.  As fine quality intact, original specimens become more scarce and techniques have become more sophisticated to fake these weapons.  We have personally handled numerous extremely well-done fakes with extremely convincing patinas.  The degree to which the fakers have been able to replicate patina to disguise their work requires an expert examination by highly experienced individuals.  It is common to find very reasonably priced weapons that are made up of part original and part modern components or wholly modern pieces displaying elaborate artificial patinas.  All purchases should include from the dealer a written guarantee of authenticity with unconditional and lifetime return policies regarding such guarantee.